OT - Phillies

[Deano]

Ok, I get the whole idea of not rushing the kids and letting them develop, but there are a few moves that should be made at this point in the season (IMO)

1. As he comes back tonight. (Which is happening). Immediately starts in LF. Revere has no place on this team and should be traded for anything or released.

2. Bring up Dom Brown for literally his last chance in RF. hitting .257 at Lehigh with 9 SB. Couldnt be worse than what we are trotting out there right now.

3. JP Crawford is hitting .392 at Clearwater. What's the point in NOT moving him to Reading? Clearly ready with No real prospects in Reading.

4. Carlos Tocci is hitting .331 at Lakewood, stealing bases and playing great in CF. time to move to Lakewood just because he is young.

5. Hamels should be traded to the first team that offers a young stud C. That looks like Boston or Chicago at this point. Gotta have someone to manage these great young arms from Reading.

6. sorry Chase, I'm traded you for a prospect. Hernandez is just outplaying you at this point.

7. Hang onto Howard while he is hot (no replacement) or until we get a decent offer. A decent offer is a mid-tier prospect.

Keep an eye on:

1B Stassi at Reading. Hitting .351 with power.

P Nola, Eflin, Windless, and Lively all tearing it up at Reading. Let them finish a terrific season there. Maybe Nola gets a late taste of Lehigh. All are contenders for Philly next year especially if Hamels and Harangue leave.

CF Quinn hitting .303 in Reading with 22 SB. Should start in CF for Lehigh next year.

The youth movement has started with Herrera, Franco, Asche, and kinda Galvis. The last thing we want those kids to do is learn how to lose gracefully.

 

[SoShady]

I would prefer not to center a Hamels trade around a catching prospect. Unless the goal is to get Schwarber and move him into LF. If you want to go the Sox route give me Bogaerts, Margot and some other A guys and move Crawford to 2B and have a infield of Franco, Bogaerts and Crawford as the future.

I could see Nola staying down all year. I was reading this atricle talking about prospect SP starts in the minors today. He has 20 the norm is in the 30-35 range to be called up. While guys like Strasburg, Lincecum had 11 and 13 starts. While the extreme exception to the rule is Leake who skipped the minors altogether.

 

[Deano]

Nola is an exception in that he pitched a huge amount at LSU. Very mature mentally and physically.

Ruiz is old and has maybe 2 years left at best. There are no acceptable catcher prospects at any level in the Phils system.

Crawford won't be ready for at least two years.

 

[LegoDoom]

Crawford was promoted to double-A last night.

 

[old duke]

Crawford is 2 years away for sure. AA this year and AAA next year, and hopefully gets called up mid year. Don't rush him, but if he becomes a superstar, then so be it.

 

[Deano]

Lots of season left. If he stays hot at Reading, maybe he does play in LV next year.

 

[eaglesnut]

Ruiz is old and has maybe 2 years left at best. There are no acceptable catcher prospects at any level in the Phils system.

They like some of their single A catchers.

 

[deerpathdave]

As a football guy, I look at Baseball in general and view it as very broken. I have a daughter who played college softball, and I know the commitment she made since she was 8 years old to play the game. Baseball players are even more committed and have played several hundred games by the time they finish high school.

Yet MLB seems to think these guys need several years of seasoning before they can play. I think its alot of BS and they could successfully play guys much younger than they do. But they have their process and system and won't think outside the box. Then the union is so strong and contracts play so much into playing time. Starting at the major league level is much more about time served and contract status than who is playing well.

 

[Deano]

As a football guy, I look at Baseball in general and view it as very broken. I have a daughter who played college softball, and I know the commitment she made since she was 8 years old to play the game. Baseball players are even more committed and have played several hundred games by the time they finish high school.

Yet MLB seems to think these guys need several years of seasoning before they can play. I think its alot of BS and they could successfully play guys much younger than they do. But they have their process and system and won't think outside the box. Then the union is so strong and contracts play so much into playing time. Starting at the major league level is much more about time served and contract status than who is playing well.

I think there are two majors issues.

First, the rules the players union have in place limit the amount of attempts a young player can get at the big leagues. After several attempts and so much time on the big roster, a player can be stolen as a free agent. This makes teams hesitant to give a kid a chance, even in September. They'd rather keep him down until he is ready and a spot is open for him.

Second, when you talk about high school players, they are just not physically or mentally mature enough to play a full season. That's the advantage of college players who are at least 21-22 yo and play probably a out 40-50 games a year. Nola is a prime example of an older kids who threw a LOT in college, so he is able to handle a full pro season. A high school kid plays maybe 30 actual games a year with a limit on innings pitched. A high school kid just can't immediately jump in and throw 30 games across a 120+ schedule. Plus they are still growing and need to put on muscle.

But I do agree the Phils often coddle kids too long. Thank God they moved up Crawford to Reading.

 

[deerpathdave]

I think there are two majors issues.

First, the rules the players union have in place limit the amount of attempts a young player can get at the big leagues. After several attempts and so much time on the big roster, a player can be stolen as a free agent. This makes teams hesitant to give a kid a chance, even in September. They'd rather keep him down until he is ready and a spot is open for him.

Second, when you talk about high school players, they are just not physically or mentally mature enough to play a full season. That's the advantage of college players who are at least 21-22 yo and play probably a out 40-50 games a year. Nola is a prime example of an older kids who threw a LOT in college, so he is able to handle a full pro season. A high school kid plays maybe 30 actual games a year with a limit on innings pitched. A high school kid just can't immediately jump in and throw 30 games across a 120+ schedule. Plus they are still growing and need to put on muscle.

But I do agree the Phils often coddle kids too long. Thank God they moved up Crawford to Reading.

People are under the misconception that high school players only play high school ball. In reality, they are getting much more work in playing travel ball. I know my daughter was routinely playing close to 80 games a year between the ages of 12 and 18 and that was not at all unusual. Not saying they are immediately ready for the pros, but they are much more seasoned than you may think.

 

[Deano]

Yeah, I get it. Still a world of difference from pro ball.